There are exceptions. In equestrian, the one completely gender-blind sport at the Olympics, women have won the dressage in 10 out of the last 11 Games, yet men have dominated individual showjumping and three-day eventing. However, women regularly win four-star events so this ceiling should crack soon.
Sports which have a feel, intuitive or judgment component appear the prime contenders to bridge the gender divide.
Candidates for merging - archery, curling, diving and shooting - continue to have separate male and female Olympic disciplines, while badminton, figure skating, sailing (through the Nacra-17 at Rio) and tennis have mixed gender options.
The final word in this work-in-progress must be reserved for Payne who, in an exclusive Newscorp column, launched an impromptu case for women's sporting suffrage.
"A couple of years ago, one owner said it should be like the 1920s; women should not even be allowed on a racecourse," Payne wrote. "It does slightly get under my skin, but I don't take it too seriously, as it's a maturity thing more than anything and we're all even competing out there once the gates open."
Five sports in which women could challenge men in pinnacle events
1. Formula 1
Only two women, Italians Maria Teresa de Filippis and Lella Lombardi, have started Grands Prix, the last being Lombardi in 1976. Scotswoman Susie Wolff joined Williams in 2012 but is retiring after taking part in first practice at the British Grand Prix last year. She says women aren't reaching the top level because they don't have a female role model and too few start karting early enough.
2. Snooker
There are currently no professional women players, despite top-tier competitions being open to both genders. Reanne Evans, who won the Ladies' World Championship from 2005-14, was handed a wildcard to the World Snooker Tour for the 2010-11 season, but failed to win a match.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis told the BBC a woman will never compete in the final stages of the world championships because the "obsessive" nature of men for an "absolutely irrelevant" activity gives them an advantage alongside "that single-minded determination in something that... is a complete waste of time - trying to put balls into pockets with a pointed stick."
3. An Olympic three-day eventing champion
Equestrian, and horsemanship in general, have long been a bastion of sporting equality, at least in theory. The Olympic movement recognises this through its gender-blind dressage, showjumping and three-day event disciplines. Women have won the Olympic dressage all but once in the last 43 years but men have a lock on individual showjumping and three-day eventing.
4. An America's Cup-winning skipper
In 1995, syndicate owner Bill Koch began the first female-dominated America's Cup boat, skippered by Kiwi Leslie Egnot. Mighty Mary might have raced Team New Zealand for the Auld Mug had the solitary bloke on board not made a tactical error in the final race of the defender series, which let Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes sneak through. A victorious helmswoman is yet to be found.
5. Bowls
The skill-set to draw or drive the jack suggests nothing should prevent match-ups of Phil Skoglund-Millie Khan proportions. The same could apply to curling at the Winter Olympics.
